Parrot Fish

What do these parrot fish look like? How do they behave? What do you need to know about Parrotfish?

What do they look like?
These are some of the most colorful and unusual fish you may ever see. These fish actually have beaks! They are known for their beaks that make them look as if they may actually be birds. They, of course, are fish of the family Scaridae that have two sets of jaws. The first is a visible pair that are on the ends of their mouths. The second is farther back in their mouths and are used to better chew their food. These fish are multi-colored tropical fish that live in deep sea reefs. Their colorings can range from bright greens to blues to oranges to yellows to bronzes. Even their colorings cause them to take on parrot-like qualities. Parrotfish generally are only about a foot to a foot-and-a-half in length and are fairly thin but tall creatures.

How do they behave?
These fish almost exclusively eat plants. They'll eat algae of all types, coral reefs, and other aquatic plants. Their jaws are powerful. They can process food like virtually no other fish can. The front set of jaws grabs the plant, chews it into bite-sized bits. By the time the food is past the second set of jaws, the food that was once a plant has been chewed so much that it is transformed into an easily digestible paste.

What else should you know about them?
Parrotfish like to be around other parrotfish. They seem to thrive around others. You'll likely find them in large numbers in coral reef areas deep in the sea. They are very helpful in maintaining a healthy coral reef system. Parrotfish eat the plant material into fish skin. They remove algae from the plants when they shouldn't be there.